November 21 Resources

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Reviewing Units I & II
Directions: We will be using the following website to review. You should answer these questions with detailed answers. Each chapter has charts, graphs, and other additional material to help you answer the questions.

Unit 1: Underpinnings and Documents of American Government:
A. Chapter One: Constitutional Beginnings
  1. Identify the key features of the policy-making system.
  2. Explain how public policies respond to public demands.
  3. Describe the nature of democratic government and the traditional and contemporary theories of democratic politics.
  4. Describe the process by which political socialization occurs in a democratic system.
  5. Trace the English philosophical heritage including the Enlightenment in the shaping of American democratic principles.

B. Chapter Two: American Documents
  1. Identify key revolutionary themes that shaped the development of American Constitutionalism.
  2. Discuss the importance of the Articles of Confederation and state constitutions on the evolution of the American Constitution.
  3. Explain the purposes and topics of the Articles of the Constitution and the importance of the elastic and supremacy clauses.
  4. Describe the purposes for the Bill of Rights and be able to outline the subsequent amendments to the Constitution.

C. Chapter Three: American Federalism
  1. Define federalism and explain its importance in American Government.
  2. Explain the shift from dual federalism to cooperative or fiscal federalism.
  3. Discuss the various grants extended by the Federal government to the states.
  4. Explain the relationships that funded and unfunded mandates create between them.

Unit 2: Political Beliefs, Behaviors in Parties, Campaigns, and Elections:
A. Chapter Four: Political Parties and Voting Behavior
  1. Explain the historical development of the two party system in American politics.
  2. Identify the major functions and structures of American political parties.
  3. Explain party loyalty and membership and be able to analyze when realignment or dealignment might occur.
  4. Describe the demographics of voters as opposed to non-voters within the American electorate.
  5. Analyze the motivation for the electorate to become involved politically.

B. Chapter 5: Elections
  1. Describe the costs of elections and how interest groups and political action committees participate in the financial process of campaigns.
  2. Analyze the differences between incumbent re-election and challenger election bids.
  3. Explain the differences between House and Senate elections in relation to time, costs, and constituency.
  4. Discuss the processes of presidential campaigning through the complex series of primaries and party conventions.
  5. Describe the complexities of the Electoral College and how it effects presidential campaigning.
  6. State efforts at reforming the system of financing campaign costs.